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Car in accident!!

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DCVING

Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2004
Messages
267
Hey guys, my 1987 Turbo T was involved in a crash sunday and I think it might be totalled. I was not a fault so the other insurance company is taking care of this. I hit her pretty hard and the whole right front of the car is damaged pretty bad, including hood, header, bumper,lights, fender poss left too, windshield, inner fender, battery is now right in front of turbo!! right door might have some problems too. How cam I get the value of the car up. because it only books for like 3200 bucks. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
My guess would be to show them what similiar cars are selling for in hopes of showing them that the book value is a little low.
 
check nada as well as kbb, there is a huge difference in prices there.

also, hemmings has a price guide that has turbo buick values listed.
 
just went through the same thing...i was hit on the pass side corner like you. the estimate was 3700 but they said my car listed for about 1200 in excellent condition(obviously a regular regal price) so i sent the insurance company to look on ebay and even this site in the for sale section and they changed their tune. they ended up concluding it was worth between 9000-10000 and they fixed the car for the original estimate. so its definately worth a shot in giving them places to look. if its a good insurance company they will follow through
 
Good luck and make sure that you CYA! You're dealing with "their" insurance company and they are not on your side. I've found that sometimes you are better off turning it into your own insurance and letting them fight it out.
 
Do your research

Hopefully you have pics of the car from before the accident. For those of you who don't, please do so immediately.

Dealing with insurance really sucks. They will come back with an offer, which will most likely be really low. They will have to send you details on how they came up with amount. For me, on the first pass, they didn't treat it as a GN, just a regular Regal, and tried to offer 3K.

So, then, they may come back with another offer, most likely higher, or so you hope. Again, they will need to provide you details of how they came up with the amount. Generally will have to provide you with phone numbers and adds of cars that are similar to yours.

When it happened to me, I called the people they provided to me and found out that one was not a GN, the other had been repainted a different color and had body work...again not similar. I sent in pics of my car along with autotrader ads showing what a car in similar condition in the same area are selling for (note must be in same area as well).

So, the whole idea is that they need to be able to provide you with a car that is in "similar" condition, which is hopefully where the pics can come in before the accident.

If they are lowballing, go to autotrader and pick out the highest costing cars that are "similar" to yours and tell them that this is what it costs to replace your car that was totalled.

It's a pain, but be sure to have your ducks in a row. Know the car you had and what it is worth and what other cars are selling for that are similar and maintain proof of that. They don't have to give you the highest dollar amount the car is selling for, only enough to buy a car in similar conditioin.. Alsol...be nice to the insurance agent...it sounds silly, since they are out to keep from giving you money, but for me, it went a long way.

If you have any questions, I'll try to help out...my car was stolen and I was able to get a fair price without a lawyer or appraiser, which is something to remember. If you have pics, you can always ask after a few rounds to excercise your right to an appraisal.

Best of luck

Chris
 
Estimate on the value PLEASE

I have a post in the CARS FOR SALE section. It would really help me to get someone or multiple people to reply if possible so the insurance company can see what people are willing to spend on my car. I can send more recent pics of it for I have gone through the car this winter. Thanks Jon
 
Just a note to the above, the insurance company DOES NOT have to give you the value of your car or what people on this board *might* pay...only what a car in similar conditions with similar miles and in the same area is selling for.

If they can find a car that is similar to yours for 5K in your area, you are only going to get 5K. This is because you can go out and purchase the car and be "whole."

Just trying to be honest with you as to how the insurance works. Get data on cars for sale that are similar to yours and make sure you have receipts for all the items/upgrades you have for your car. What someone on a board might pay to them is pretty much irrelevant...not to be harsh, just the truth. It is up to you to show that your car is worth what you say it is by providing examples of cars in your area that are *similar*

I'm just trying to be honest so you know what to expect since I went through this 3 months ago

Chris
 
Just use the cars for sale on Kirban's site... he has a running record and they are higher than average which is good for you!
 
the first thing you want to do is call your insurance agent,he can be very helpful.
if he is any good
 
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